apricot and pistachio tarte tatin
rating:7 ounces sugar
2 tablespoons water
10 to 12 apricots
1 3/4 ounces unsalted butter, diced
9 ounce slab puff pastry
small handful thyme, leaves picked
small handful shelled pistachio nuts, chopped
preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C/gas 3).
in a pan, simmer half the sugar with a couple of tablespoons of water until a light golden caramel has formed. Meanwhile, halve the apricots and remove the stones.
do not throw the stones away.
sprinkle the apricots with the remaining sugar, mix, and leave to sit for 10 minutes. The sugar will draw out the lovely juicy sweetness from the apricots.
Check the caramel sauce. If it is ready, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and pour the sauce into a non-stick tart tin.
whack the apricots on top and spread them out to cover the base of the tin. Now take about half of your apricot stones and bash them open. Inside you will find a nutty kernel, which tastes just like Amaretto, great for adding flavour.*
finely slice the kernels and sprinkle them over the apricots with half the thyme.
Roll out the pastry until it is just slightly larger than your tart tin. Cover the apricots with the pastry, pushing it right into the sides of the tin. Place the tart in the oven for around 25 to 35 minutes until pastry is puffed and golden brown.
when the tart is cooked, put a large plate on top of the tin and turn the tart upside down onto it. Sprinkle with the rest of the thyme and the pistachio nuts just before serving. Fantastic served with ice cream or whipped cream.
*apricot kernels should only be consumed cooked, as they have trace amounts of nitrites in them, which are slightly toxic until roasted.
